Compromise
by Laura Kay
Summary: All relationships take a little compromise. Stottlemeyer and TK.


I have come across virtually no Stottlemeyer/TK stories. I wanted one. And as its very late now, I will probably be acting very much like TK does in this story in the morning.

Also, I haven't abandoned Mr. Monk and the One, an update is forthcoming.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

TK was not a morning person. She had never claimed to be one. She would rather stay up late and then curl up in bed until late morning any day. Her office generally didn't approve of this though, so every morning was a battle against the alarm clock.

Leland was not a lay-about sort. His whole personality was against it. He approved of self-discipline and endurance. Once he was awake, he was ready to go, to begin his day, to get to work. He knew how to relax and unwind after a hard day, but a life of people depending on him led to an unshakable level of self-control.

When they first began their relationship, this wasn't an issue. The first time Leland stayed over at TK's apartment, the alarm went off early and without discussion they compromised: they stayed in bed a while longer, but they definitely didn't sleep in. On days that didn't start out this way, they were both on their best "new relationship" behavior: Leland didn't jump out of bed so as not to appear eager to leave her, and TK pulled herself out from under the covers after turning the alarm off just once so as not to annoy him with the shrill noise.

As they got more comfortable with each other and more settled in their relationship, more established habits prevailed. No matter whose apartment they were at, the alarm would go off and Leland would rise first. As he went about his morning ablutions, TK would curl up in the warm space he'd vacated and doze off again. Leland would wake her up again (hitting snooze on the alarm clock as it went off again) when he left the bathroom. Depending on how tired she was, she might hold a sleepy, mumbled conversation with him, or watch him dress through blurry, slitted eyes. He'd smile and pull the covers off her before he left the bedroom, then bring her a mug of coffee ten minutes later and pull them off her again. Eventually she'd drag herself out of bed with (barely) enough time to make herself presentable for the day.

One morning the alarm chirped brightly—mockingly, in TK's opinion—and she reached over to the bedside table to shut it off quickly. Before Leland could move, she flipped over and buried herself against his side.

Leland smiled. "You move remarkably fast for someone who's still asleep," he murmured in a scratchy voice, stroking her hair. She made a throaty noise that was either a laugh of agreement or a groan of protest, and slung an arm across his chest.

He chuckled quietly, then tried to extricate himself. Her response was to hold him tighter, pressing her face into his neck and hitching a leg over his. "Stay," she whispered. He could feel her lips move against his skin. Not needing further enticement, he stayed.

The alarm went off again and TK pulled away, slapped the alarm off, and returned to her position draped across Leland in the space of a second, drawing another chuckle from the police captain. "Honey, I've got to get up."

She moaned softly against him. "No, you don't. You're always early to the station. Be late today." She traced patterns with her fingertips on the side of his neck that wasn't occupied by her face. He stroked his hand down her back and up again, and decided it wasn't a bad offer.

When the alarm sounded again, TK groaned loudly and flipped over to shut it off once more. This time she stayed facing away from him and curled into her pillow and her side of the blanket. Freed, Leland sat up to get out of bed, but paused to look over at her. Her hair was dark and sleep-tumbled against the light blue pillowcase. Her shoulder was exposed, framed between her tank top and the comforter, and just begging to be touched. Leland smiled and slid over next to her, laying back down to curl his frame around hers. He slid his arm around her waist, and something in the vicinity of his heart jumped at the sound of the delighted, breathless laugh she gave as she snuggled back against him. He kissed that bare shoulder, and then her neck and just behind her ear, happy to hold her for a few more minutes.

The alarm went off again, and this time he really did have to get up. He kissed her neck once more, then released her to pull himself out of the other side of the bed.

When he came back into the room, he found the bed made and TK dressed and waiting for her turn in the bathroom. His look of astonishment made her laugh.

"I guess holding onto you for a while helped me wake up. I couldn't drift back off like normal," she explained, rising up on her toes to kiss his cheek as she walked past him.

Leland smiled again as she closed the door behind her. "I think we found a compromise," he muttered.


End file.
